


A French Fry Walks Into A Bar

by HotdagaHermit



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Gene is just big lonely, Heehoo Genes fuckin gay, Hotdaga - Freeform, M/M, Pre Canon, alcohol mention too, also idk if I should mention but this is humanised, at all, gaydar probably, how did gene find Steven?, i didn’t proofread this like, idk I didn’t plan that much, just mentioned, steven is gay but Responsible, this is poly fixins but melba isn’t actually in it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 14:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18412739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HotdagaHermit/pseuds/HotdagaHermit
Summary: Gene visits Steven’s bar, full of love and regret, maybe not met with the reaction he was hoping for.





	A French Fry Walks Into A Bar

Steven hummed to himself, an old tune he hadn’t heard or played in years, stepping down off the step stool he’d placed by the windows to clean them. His bar had barely been up and running for a year, but it was already his pride and joy. He practically built the place himself, small, quaint, popular but not booming, it was homely. He enjoyed running the place, the odd customers he got entertained him, and he liked the feeling of being busy whenever he had to restock, clean or just tend to the building, it was a pleasant change to his last job. He missed the band dearly, he really did, but moving on was the best for all of them, he knew that. It felt terrible, but it was better. Somehow.

Today had been quiet, he’d been closed for a good hour or two now and had taken to cleaning down the place, thankfully the floor wasn’t riddled with broken glass and there weren’t too many stains, a good day. He tapped his fingers idly on the counter, gently kicking the stool back under it, throwing the washcloth into its bucket, grabbing a dry one and picking up the dirty glasses tray, letting his mind wander. His thoughts drifted to his days in the band, that nervous feeling he got before a show, the adrenaline rush as soon as they finished and the pure pride he felt on stage. Smiling reminiscently, he hummed a little louder, one of his favourite songs of theirs, ‘All The Way Down’ swaying softly.

He remembered every performance with this song, there was a bit of a routine to it, he and Gene would play with their backs together, spinning quickly off each other and back to performing. He hadn’t realised he was moving so much until he was ripped from his thoughts, the bell above the bar door ringing making him freeze on the spot. Loosing his smile he all but slammed the glass and cloth on the counter, turning to face whoever had just walked in, instantly frowning. Ah, perfect.

“Stevie!” Gene, his former bandmate and once something more, had wandered in without any warning at all, catching Steven by surprise. He just huffed, turning his back to Gene and grabbed the glass, working again like nothing changed. 

“Stevennnn, c’mon, I just wanna talk to my old boy-buddy!” Steven could practically hear the grin in his voice, wincing when Gene corrected himself. So that’s where they were at.

“It’s been a while, why’re you here?” He gave in, turning to face Gene, poker faced and placing the glass back down again. Gene had sat in one of the bar stools, hands folded on the counter, leaning up with a huge grin on his face.

“Do I really need an excuse to see my pal?” Steven felt his lips tugging into a smile, huffing again, mimicking Gene’s pose, his back legs crossing over behind him.

“When it’s been a year ‘n a half and you...somehow managed to track me down without any warning, figured you’d have one.” He blinked his eyes, looking down halfway through speaking, wondering just how Gene found him. Gene’s expression dropped only for a second, returning to his painfully gleeful self in seconds.

“Oh, ‘course not! Just wanted to see you again, I’ve missed you.” Steven had missed Gene too, but for all the wrong reasons. He missed waking up to Gene and Melba every morning, missed seeing them in the halls and kissing their cheeks when they walked by, missed cuddling together and falling asleep after practicing for a little too long, he missed the feeling of being in love. The three being together was the best thing that happened to him, but all that was over now, he shouldn’t miss it.

“Yeah, I’ve...missed you too buddy. So you just came here for, what? A friendly chat?” Steven cocked an eyebrow, reaching out and pulling the tray of dirty glasses closer, figuring he should still at least get these cleaned.

“Well, sure! How’ve you been?” 

The two had talked for what felt like, and might have been, hours, Steven had grabbed a bottle or two from the shelf at one point and had poured himself and Gene a few shots, nothing much, but seeing no harm in it, though it lead to an interesting exchange (“Gene you can’t just have the bottle, youre the biggest lightweight I know.” “And?”).

“Do you think you’d ever come back?” And there it was. That was the question he’d been waiting for, hoped he wouldn’t hear but he still knew it was coming. He’d thought about it so much, almost every day since he’d left, and he didn’t even know.

He sighed heavily, fiddling with the end of the cloth in his hand, the glasses now fully cleaned and forgotten about, eyes searching the counter and refusing to look Gene in the eyes.

“I don’t think I should. We...both made mistakes, things we can’t take back. Things changed, Gene. I think we lost Melba for good, it’d hurt her getting back together, we can’t fix this.” He’d forgotten if he was talking about the band, or their relationship, he didn’t really care anymore. That was the truth, and as much as it hurt to say, he had to accept it. He heard a small ‘oh’ from in front of him, closing his eyes. He knew that definitely wasn’t something Gene would take well, but he had to hear it. There was silence between them before Gene spoke up.

“Well...that’s alright. You’re right, I...I really screwed up, huh?” He chuckled dryly, playing with the cuffs on his wrists, debating on what to say. He took a deep breath in, smiling up at Steven.

“We were great together, but...maybe it’s time to be great on our own.” Steven looked up, smiling reassuringly, slightly taken aback by Gene’s words. That same silence fell again, Steven debating his next move before standing up, turning his back to Gene and browsing the wall behind him freshly stocked, grabbing a bottle of wine Gene had taken a particular liking to.

“Just...one second.” Steven excused himself to a small room in the back, leaving Gene perplexed, waiting for him to return. A few seconds later Steven walked out, brandishing the bottle that now had a red ribbon neatly tied around the neck, placing it in front of Gene.

“Can’t offer much, this should be-“ He was cut off as Gene reached across the counter, almost knocking the bottle over in the process, awkwardly wrapping Steven in a hug. It was a struggle to make it work, it was awkward and rushed but felt just right. Gene was smiling widely when he pulled back, and...was he crying? He’d never admit to that, taking the bottle in his hands and rubbing his thumb over it. 

Minutes later, the two were standing at the door, wishing each other the best in life and good luck moving forward. Steven put a hand on Gene’s shoulder when he was walking out, softly smiling down at him.

“Real nice seein’ you again.”


End file.
